Ver. 1. Hear the right, O Lord] Heb. Righteousness, which crieth unto God no less than blood doth, Genesis 4:10 Or, hear the right, that is, my prayer, saith R. David, rightly made with heart and voice. Or, Hear, O righteous Lord, as Christ also saith, O righteous Father, John 17:25 Attend unto my cry] Some profane persons bear well their crosses, because their cause is good; but they cry not when God bindeth them, Job 36:13. Or, if they cry, they cry out of hard fortune, as the Athenians did when their good General Nicias was slain, and their army routed in Sicily (Thucyd.); or against dame Virtue, as if it were no more than a mere name, as Brutus did, when beaten out of the field (Dio). Or, against providence, as if there were a mist over the eye of it, as Pompey did, when discomfited by Caesar; so blaming the sun, because of the soreness of his own blear eyes. But David (greatly wronged by Saul and his courtiers) by humble and hearty prayer maketh his request known to God with thanksgiving, Philippians 4:6. And this, like his harp, drove away the evil spirit of grief and discontent. That goeth not out of feigned lips] His devotion was not sorrowful, as is that of hypocrites; it was not an empty ring, a mere outside, the labour of the lips, but the travail of the heart; it was sincere and thoroughly wrought, as St James hath it, ενεργουμενη, James 5:16. Wicked men speak God fair, but it is as the devil did our Saviour, to be rid of him, or as those, Psalms 78:36, who flattered him with their mouths, and lied unto him with their tongues.
Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence] Let it be both pronounced and executed forthwith. Let thine eyes behold, &c.] i.e. Make it appear that thou both seest and likest mine integrity; and that thou winkest not at men’s wickednesses.
Ver. 3. Thou hast proved my heart] And knowest me to be no dissembler and traitor, as they wrongfully charge me, while they muse as they use. Thou hast visited me in the night] In which God is wont to stir up and inmind men of his will, Job 4:13,14, as being all gathered within themselves; and when the darkness doth unmask them of worldly dissimulation. Thou hast tried me] As metallaries do their gold and silver. And shall find nothing] Heb. hast not found, םוט deficit, saith Aben Ezra; no blot or blemish, that is, not the spot of God’s children, Deuteronomy 32:5, no dross or deceit that may not well consist with godliness. I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress] My general purpose is such, though I may have my particular failings. I speak my whole heart, so far as I know it. Magna est concordia cordis et oris.
Ver. 4. Concerning the works of men] sc. Which ought to be done by them according to thy law. Or, which they are wont to do, whether right or wrong, I have not now to say, but this I can safely say by thy mercy, that By the word of thy lips] Which I have taken for the rule and rudder of my life, I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer] Effractoris, of the breach maker; such as is the bridge maker of Rome, at this day. David meaneth that he had shunned the society of graceless persons, Psalms 26:4 Pr 24:21 Jer 15:17; and taken heed to his ways, that he offended not with his tongue, while the wicked was present, Psalms 39:1,2, lest the wicked should rejoice at his misdemeanors, Psalms 38:17.
Ver. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, &c.] Keep me within the circle of thy word, as thou hitherto hast done; make me to walk exactly, and as in a frame, Ephesians 5:15. Grant me thy preventing, concomitant, and subsequent grace: O thou God of all grace, perfect, strengthen, stablish me, 1 Peter 5:10. That my footsteps slip not] By the malice of Satan, who seeks to subvert such as are most eminent, to the scandal of the weak, and scorn of the wicked; by the corruption also of mine own heart, Qua quisque sibi Satan est, as one well saith, whereby every man is a Satan to himself: could we but divorce the flesh from the devil, there would be no such danger. And, lastly, by the allurements or affrightments of this present evil world; the way whereof is like the vale of Siddim, slimy and slippery, full of slime pits and pit falls, springs and stumblingblocks.
Ver. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me] q.d. Thou wast always wont to hear me, and therefore I presume thou wilt. Experience breeds confidence. Incline thine ear] See how he reinforceth his former request; as if he would wring the blessing out of God’s hands by a holy violence, and take no denial.
Ver. 7. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness, &c] Mirificas benignitates tuas; less than a marvellous mercifulness will not serve David’s turn, he was so hardly bestead; ut nisi mirabiliter feceris, pereo. We now alive have lived in an age of miracles; and God hath dealt with our land, not according to his ordinary course, but according to his prerogative; by a miracle of his mercy have we hitherto subsisted, and by a prop of his extraordinary patience. O thou that savest, &c.] Servator sperantium. Choice must be made in prayer of fit titles and attributes of God; such as may strengthen faith and quicken affection. From those that rise up against them] Or, against thy right hand. The saints are at Christ’s right hand, Psalms 45:9, as Christ is at the Father’s; and he puts his holy hand between them and harm.